If you’ve been a reader for any length of time, you know I love old western TV shows and movies. I grew up on them. I guess one reason I enjoy them is the bad guys always get what’s coming to them: justice.

On a couple of occasions, the Lone Ranger was called Justice or Mr. Justice. He rode upon his white steed and always arrived at the right time to offer aid, to rescue, to save from peril, and to see justice was done.

For fun, I wanted to see if there were any behind the scenes tidbits. I couldn’t find anything but I did find the Lone Ranger’s Creed, written by Fran Striker, the man who created the Lone Ranger, Green Hornet, and Sgt. Preston of the Yukon characters.

I think you’ll find this creed very interesting…

1. I believe that to have a friend, a man must be one.2. That all men are created equal and that everyone has within himself the power to make this a better world.3. That God put the firewood there, but that every man must gather and light it himself.4. In being prepared physically, mentally, and morally to fight when necessary for that which is right.5. That a man should make the most of what equipment he has.6. That “this government, of the people, by the people, and for the people,” shall live always.7. That men should live by the rule of what is best for the greatest number.8. That sooner or later… somewhere… somehow… we must settle with the world and make payment for what we have taken.9. That all things change, but the truth, and the truth alone lives on forever.10. I believe in my Creator, my country, my fellow man.

The Lone Ranger also had a code of conduct to be strictly followed in every episode, in every situation.

1. The Lone Ranger never smokes, never uses profanity, and never uses intoxicating beverages.2. The Lone Ranger is a man who can fight great odds, yet takes time to treat a bird with a broken wing.3. The Lone Ranger believes that our sacred American heritage provides that every individual has the right to worship God as he desires.4. Play down gambling and drinking scenes as far as possible, and keep the Lone Ranger out of saloons. When this cannot be avoided, try to make the saloon a café and deal with waiters and food instead of bartenders and liquor.5. The Lone Ranger at all times uses precise speech, without sang or dialect. His grammar must be pure. He must make proper use of “who” and “whom,” “shall” and “will,” “I” and “me,” etc.6. The Lone Ranger never shoots to kill. When he has to use guns, the Lone Ranger never shoots to kill, but rather only to disarm his opponent as painlessly as possible.

Unfortunately, a creed for living and a code of conduct have all but vanished from society. Shouldn’t we, as Christians, have a creed and a code like these? Maybe not specifically, but basically, so others know our walk matches our talk.

Where’s the Lone Ranger when you need him?

Isn’t Jesus our Lone Ranger? Where is He? He’s within each of us. Closer than our breath. He’s the only One who always arrives at just the right time, to offer aid, to rescue, and to save from peril.

And our Lone Ranger still rides for justice!

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Several versions of the above verse say “a very present help” or something similar. However, the Masoretic (Hebrew) Text states the verse this way, “God is our refuge and strength, very much found to be a help in distresses.”

I love that version and this one, “God is our refuge and strength, a helper who is always found in times of trouble.” (Ps. 46:1 HCSB) These two uses of found are a little closer to the definition.

Let’s look at some of the definitions…

* refuge: shelter, from rain, storm, or danger
* very/very much/always: vehemence, exceedingly, abundantly, greatly, highly, might, force, wholly, speedily
* present/found: to come forth, appear, exist, to attain to or find, acquire, occur, encounter, to happen or light upon, to appear, to be recognized, to be discovered or detected, let himself be found by anyone, etc. Vine’s Expository says it “refers to ‘finding’ someone or something that is lost or misplaced, or ‘finding’ where it is. The thing may be found as the result of a purposeful search.” Mainly translated as find or found, as in “Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.” (Gen. 6:8 NKJV)
* help/helper: aid, succor, assistance
* trouble/distresses: tightness, straits, travails, conditions that cause distress, tribulations

The Masoretic Text says in verse 2, “On account of this we will not fear when the earth changes and when mountains are slipping into the heart of the seas. Let its waters foam; let the mountains shake in its swelling. Selah.”

Pause and think on all that. Oh, as I do, I find it so encouraging! It tells me God is my strength and my shelter from rain, storm, or danger, wholly, speedily, with force and might. When I feel I can’t find Him, or have misplaced Him, when I feel lost and I search for Him, He lets Himself be found or discovered by me.

He is my help, aid, and assistance in tight circumstances, in travails, in tribulations. And knowing this, I need not fear when nature and earth spew out their terrors of storms and earthquakes, or when the mountains crack and explode with earth’s inner, molten slag and flows into the sea.

I need not be frightened. You need not be frightened. God is with us, as verse 7 tells us, “The Lord of hosts is with us.” (NKJV) And God says, “Be still, and know that I am God.” (Ps. 46:10 NKJV)

This is the only time the Hebrew word for be still is translated as such. From the definitions, we could apply it to ourselves this way…

Be still.Still…to slacken my hold on impure thoughts. To withdraw from and abandon worldly ways. To refrain from negative thinking. To forsake my old ways. To relax, to sink down into God’s presence, and be quiet.

When the world’s news or surrounding trials attempt to frighten us, we cling to the words of Paul…

“But this precious treasure — this light and power that now shine within us — is held in a perishable container, that is, in our weak bodies. Everyone can see that the glorious power within must be from God and is not our own.

“We are pressed on every side by troubles, but not crushed and broken. We are perplexed because we don’t know why things happen as they do, but we don’t give up and quit. We are hunted down, but God never abandons us. We get knocked down, but we get up again and keep going.” (2 Cor. 4:7-9 TLB)

May you sink down into God’s presence and know His strength and shelter in all your troubles.

Look back over the year now closing. With what was it filled? Did adverse circumstances gobble up your days? Did heartaches keep you awake at nights?

In all the highs and lows, was God any part of it, or was He in every part of it, helping you all the while?

My guess is He was there, in every part of your year, even if you didn’t recognize His presence. My guess is He brought you through many situations. My guess is He spoke to your heart with words of comfort and peace and quite possibly discipline, encouraged you through others, gave you hope for a renewed future, and fought for you, giving you victory.

In Old Testament times, Israel faced the Philistines. Samuel told all the people that, “If you are really serious about wanting to return to the Lord, get rid of your foreign gods and your images of Ashtoreth. Determine to obey only the Lord; then he will rescue you from the Philistines.” (1 Sam. 7:2-3 NLT)

So the Israelites got rid of their images and worshiped only the Lord. Then, they all fasted, repented, and offered a sacrifice and prayer to God, which He answered by confusing the enemy, overcoming them, and driving them back.

To commemorate Israel’s victory and recovery of all the territory the enemy had taken, Samuel set up a stone as a marker of remembrance, calling it Ebenezer, which means the stone of help.

When Samuel did this, he exclaimed, “Up to this point the LORD has helped us!” (1 Sam. 7:12 NLT)

Can you say that? Heretofore or up to this point, the Lord has been your Stone of Help?

Last year’s troubles or heartaches may be lingering into the New Year but the Lord is gracious and will never leave you without His help or comfort.

Do you desire God to do a new thing in your life this year? No matter how this year played out for you, the New Year offers you a new beginning. Whatever it brings your way, the Father will carry you through it all and bring a host of others to lift you up in prayer and encourage you in your walk. He stands close, with His arms outreached, awaiting your call.

My prayer for each of you is that your heart will be guarded with the hope of a better new year and you will experience a special touch of the Lord’s presence upon all you do.

In 1981, Adam Walsh was found murdered and decapitated, actually only his head was found. Sorry. Gruesome, I know. You’ll see why I mention this in a moment. (If you’d like to read Adam’s story, you can go here.)

If you don’t know about Adam, he was abducted from a mall in Florida. You have probably heard of his father John Walsh of America’s Most Wanted. On the anniversary of Adam’s death twenty five years later in 2006, President George W. Bush signed into law the federal statue called the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act, which also created the sex offender registry.

If you saw yesterday’s post, you read about Susette Williams’ new bookThe Day My Parents Got Lost. It brought up a scary memory for me of what happened to my daughter.

Right after the abduction of Adam Walsh, I lost my five year-old daughter in a large department store at the mall. To say I was freaked out would be an understatement.

We have given our sweet daughter many nicknames over the years, so I’ll just call her by one…Merf!

As we were shopping, I was looking around in one of the women’s departments (don’t remember which one). Merf was next to me. She loved to feel fabrics when she was little, especially soft ones, and would occasionally crawl under the clothes on the racks and feel the fabrics.

Thinking she was right beside me, or under a rack, I said something to her. But she did not answer me.

I called to her. No answer.

I looked around, and under, and called again. No answer.

Starting to panic, I called a little louder. No answer.

Now getting frantic, I yelled out in the store for her, but she did not answer.

At the same time my mind raced through all the horrific scenarios that could happen, my heart felt as though it would jump out of my body. I prayed, “Oh, God! Help!”

As I started to search everywhere for her, my ears perked up as I heard someone calling my name from somewhere within the store . . . “LYNN!”

I looked around and a very dear friend was just coming through the entrance of the store. I waved to her.

From halfway across the store, she yelled, “Are you looking for Merf?”

“YES! Where is she?”

“She’s right here by the door!”

I ran to get her.

After smothering my daughter with kisses and practically squishing her insides out with my hug, I asked her why she didn’t stay by my side.

She said she couldn’t find me and, as she knew which way we came in, she went to the double set of doors and waited in between them because she knew I would come out that way.

Oh, be still my heart! It still shakes me up to this day.

With all the evil in the world, it is highly important that we teach our kids and grand-kids to stay close to us or whoever is in charge of them at the moment. We want to teach them with love and gentleness so we do not scare them. However, a little apprehension is a good thing.

And, at the same time we explain closeness to them, we need to teach them that staying close to the Lord, as our heavenly Father, is of utmost importance. As His children, we are never alone or without His help in any situation.

When Jehovah-shammah (Jehovah or the Lord is present or there) came as Immanuel (God with us), He said, “I am with you always.” (Matt. 28:20 almost all versions)

“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.”
(Ps. 46:1 NIV)